


Once and Future

by soprano_in_waiting



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Episode: s05e12-13 The Diamond of the Day, Fix-It, Gen, Merlin POV, Merlin's magic to the rescue, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-19 22:36:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14247201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soprano_in_waiting/pseuds/soprano_in_waiting
Summary: The prophecy had said "Once and Future King"How could that be when Arthur laid there dying in front of him?





	Once and Future

 

Lightning flashed across the sky as Merlin watched horror struck from atop the mountain.

“Noooo!!!” He screamed.

Arthur and Mordred stood as if frozen. Swords piercing flesh.

The smaller knight slowly slid down to his knees, before falling lifelessly to the ground, breathing his last. As he fell the sword piercing the king withdrew, spreading a bloody pool on the red. Arthur stumbled around, stunned, before coughing. A small rivulet of blood trickled from his lips. He looked around blankly before he managed to see Merlin across the distance. Blue met blue as the king lost his fight to stay upright.

Merlin raced down the unmarked path. He didn’t care anymore. His magic was for the man dying before him. The sorcerer threw accosting Saxons off the mountainside. Used his magic to keep himself from heading face first after them when he lost balance.

Finally, he reached his king’s side.

“No. No. No. This can’t be it. I was here. I should have stopped it.” Merlin rambled, pulling off armor pieces. Finally, he pulled up the torn shirt to see the ragged wound in the side. His mind raced to remember anything that could help. Anything at all from the numerous rambling lectures Gaius had given while crushing herbs or treating the knights.

A mumbled word caused the wound to be washed out with a gentle stream of water.  He didn’t see what else he could do. Healing spells never worked for him.

“Merlin?” Arthur groaned, barely keeping his eyes open. His face was pale and breaking out in clammy sweat. “Whu?” He coughed again, causing a grimace.

“Sh, shh, I’ll fix this. Just, just hang on, I’ll get you help.” Merlin assured shakily, trying to now stem the slow blood flow that hadn’t stopped from Arthur’s side. “I’ll bandage you up, get you back to Camelot. We can fix this. Just hold on. Don’t leave me.” His hands rapidly set to work, ripping pieces off his shirt to tend to him.

“Mer…lin..” Arthur tried to warn, gazing vaguely over his friend’s shoulder.

Merlin whirled around to find Morgana kneeling by Mordred’s side. A pale hand lovingly closed those blue eyes that had stilled in death.

“At least, if you have taken my Mordred, he has killed you as well.” She said as she folded the young knight’s hands over his chest. She slowly rose to her feet and turned on the two.

“I shall just have to finish the job.” She snarled, the glint of madness returning full force as she held her hand out.

Before the spell could be unleashed, Merlin shot a bolt of energy at her. The witch was knocked back against the rock. He thought she was dead until she started laughing madly.

“You. You’re Emrys. A powerful sorcerer, hiding right in the king’s shadow.” She cackled.

“Leave.” Merlin commanded, crouching ready to defend. Morgana started to inch forward.

“You really think a little lightning is going to kill a High Priestess of the Old Religion?” She screeched. The witch threw her own bolt, hitting Merlin and knocking him down to the ground. He heard Arthur struggling to move to help behind him. He reached back to hold him down and his hand struck metal. Sharp metal. _Excalibur_.

Morgana walked towards them, unsteadily, gaining footing as she got closer. An idea struck Merlin. He reached behind him blindly, never taking his eyes off Morgana. She started incanting again, intending to finally end this.

Quickly, Merlin grasped the hilt, and thrust the sword right through the Priestess.

Surprise covered her face before she choked on blood, falling to the ground. He pulled out the sword.

“A blade forged in a dragon’s breath. No mortal blade, and now your doom.” Merlin spoke.

Magic seemed to be rising around him, whipping the winds all about them. A weak cough broke through, turning Merlin’s attention to the fallen king once more.

The servant returned to attempting to save his friend.

“Mer…lin…” Arthur whispered. His blue eyes slid shut.

“No. NoOOO!” Merlin screamed. His magic reacted, bursting forth, joining with the magic that had been raised by the dying priestess. His world turned white. Merlin’s eyes slid closed on a world of gray.

* * *

 

Merlin first realized that he could hear. Strange sounds filled his ears, like peculiar birds chirping about him. He stirred on what he realized was the softest bed he had ever felt. Considering he had perhaps taken a few naps on the king’s bed when he was otherwise occupied of an afternoon, he knew soft beds. He felt cords around his face and hands. What use were cords that didn’t bind?

The sorcerer opened his eyes, and then immediately wished he hadn’t. Blinding white met his eyes. He rushed to cover them, and the flimsy ropes moved with one hand. Merlin blinked his eyes a bit to clear them. Where the hell was he? This was a place like he had never seen. He moved his stiff limbs to get off the bed. The dark haired ripped the ropes away from his body. A slight sting caught him off guard from the one on his hand as a red spot of blood welled up. Nothing compared to Arthur.

Arthur. His eyes widened. He had to find him. Whoever found him had to have found Arthur too. A high-pitched ringing broke through his daze as he hobbled to go find him. Damnit. They took his trousers!  Nothing to be done about that he supposed.

Strange people swarmed to the room he had been held in. They babbled at him and seemed to be trying to herd him back to the room. Merlin weakly struggled against them. The sorcerer tried to summon his magic but found only a slight fizzle inside.

“Arthur! Arthur! Where is he? Where did you take him?! Let me go! Arthur!” Merlin screamed. Suddenly he felt a pinch on his shoulder. His vision blurred, and he fell backwards into darkness again.

* * *

 

When he woke again, his hands were restrained to the bed, this time with something more substantial, although he could feel that those ropes from before had been reattached. Merlin tried to wiggle free, but nothing gave. His attempts must have caused some amount of noise, because suddenly a huge bear of a man was in the room, dressed once again in that strange uniform. Merlin couldn’t see any weapons, but he was the last man to call an unarmed man helpless. Sorcerers and witches seldom learned how to wield a blade after all.

“Where am I? Where’s Arthur? Let me go!” Merlin yelled again.

The man raised his arms in a calming motion, trying to get Merlin to quiet down. He murmured something in a language Merlin couldn’t quite understand. He gave up and dropped himself back to the bed.

The man drew closer. Merlin tensed. The stranger did nothing but draw the blanket that Merlin first realized was covering him back to his waist, smoothing it out. He spoke to himself in that strange language. Then the man seemed to have a sudden realization, whispering something else to the man.

He straightened up, then pointed to himself, saying a single word. Then pointing to Merlin with a questioning look. He finally understood.

“Per-see?” Merlin replied? Was that this man’s name?

Must have been as the man smiled brightly and nodded his head. Then he pointed back at Merlin.

“Oh, Merlin.” He replied, finally realized the man, Persee, wanted his name.  Persee grabbed a piece of wood from the end of his bed and wrote something down on it. He said something else to Merlin before he left the room, leaving Merlin to his thoughts.

He surveyed his surroundings and found that the chirping he had heard before wasn’t from some birds. Although it could have been, for all he knew they were hiding in those odd boxes of lights on the walls and on stands near his bed. He had a window, but it was covered by curtains at the moment, so he couldn’t see his surroundings. Maybe not a prison then? Prison cells didn’t tend to have prison beds or windows.

Persee returned a little while later with a woman who began to speak to him. She paused a few moments, as if expecting him to say something. She must have tried it over a dozen times, and from what Merlin could tell she must have been changing languages. They finally realized he didn’t speak whatever language he did. Merlin huffed. Took them long enough.

The new woman turned to Persee and shrugged her shoulders, leaving the room with one last glance.

Persee mumbled to himself as he looked at Merlin.

“Could you please let me go? I promise not to run.” He calmly asked, lifting one wrist to show what he wanted. The man contemplated for a moment. Merlin tried to give him his most charming smile he could. “Please?”

Even if he didn’t understand the words, he must have understood the tone. Persee walked closer and slowly started undoing the straps, starting with his legs. Merlin started rubbing his wrists where it had been chafing. He moved to tear that thin rope off again, before a large hand stopped him. Persee started shaking his head, pointing to a bag of water that seemed to be connected to the ropes. Merlin didn’t understand. Since it didn’t seem to be hurting him, and he didn’t want to lose what little goodwill he had from the larger man, he let it go. He didn’t know where he was anyways.

Suddenly he heard some birds chirping again, a different call to what he had heard before. It must have been some sort of signal because Persee left the room. Once he was sure he was alone, Merlin crept from the bed, careful to not dislodge the ropes and opened the curtains. He was completely at a loss for what he saw. A city of metal and stone, unlike anything he had ever seen before. Weird coached seemed to be running through the streets and unbelievable speeds. With no horses!

Wherever he was, he was far from Albion, far from Camelot. He had never even heard of such a thing. He returned to the bed and tried to wrap his head around this. Merlin had gotten himself into another unbelievable situation. As far as he could tell, the magic must have done something. Gaius always did say he was going to get into trouble with his magic. Unworldly amounts of magic with no control whatsoever. Not good. And no way to get home.

He started cursing out every god, every goddess he knew. This wouldn’t have happened if Mordred hadn’t killed Arthur, if Morgana hadn’t twisted his mind. If Morgause hadn’t twisted Morgana’s. If Uther hadn’t been such a blind, fearmongering fool! It wasn’t fair!

Merlin stopped abruptly. In the doorway was an old man, white haired, and slightly stooped. The old man seemed to be staring at him like he was one of the fantastical performance troupes that traveled the country. A rare fanciful item on show.

“Can I help you?” Merlin asked, as the man just stared at him.

“Can you please stop staring? Did you want something? Maybe you can somehow help? Just my luck to end up somewhere where no one speaks a word of any civilized language…” Merlin continued, taking the stare blank wonder as someone else come to watch the show.

“Speak this tongue?” The man, slowly, halting replied.

Merlin’s jaw dropped in surprise. Finally!

“Finally, someone who can understand me. Where am I? Where is this place? Where’s Arthur? Tall, blond? Did they take him too?” Merlin fired off, breathing a sigh of relief at someone who can finally help.

“Slow. Please.” The man spoke.

Merlin slowly repeated his questions, as if to a young child.

“I am Gaius. You?” The man answered, startling Merlin. He gave Gaius his name, while taking a closer look at him. Perhaps, with longer hair….

“You are hurt. In…. healing place.” Gaius replied, searching for a word he maybe didn’t know.

“Infirmary?” Merlin suggested.

“Yes, infirmary. We are in London, England.” Merlin had no idea where these places where.

“I do not know ‘Arthur’ but I ask the…healers” He struggled again, and then hobbled out the door.

A few minutes later, the man returned with a woman in a white coat.

“This is Healer Alice. She help.”

She came to his side and started looking Merlin over. She must have liked what she saw. She turned to the older man and spoke to him, motioning to Merlin.

“You walk?” Gaius asked. Merlin nodded, getting up as if to show them. The healer brought him some sort of soft robe, wrapping it around his shoulders. Merlin was grateful as the clothes they had given him, weren’t quite covering everything.

The healer barked out a short word, grabbing his attention. She brought the pole with the bag of water forward. Merlin raised a puzzled eyebrow to Gaius.

“You take. Help you heal.”

Merlin was still not sure what it was supposed to do, but he did as told, grabbing the pole. The doctor held one arm to steady him and guided him down the hall buzzing with more people and rooms like his.  They reached a room that was dimly lit. The healer stopped him for a moment. She stepped inside and pulled the curtain aside to show another bed like his, but this one had many more ropes and such attached to it. The chirping was back. She motioned him closer.

Merlin slowly walked forward. Could it be? They were supposedly in an infirmary…. He stopped at the edge of the bed, looking at the face that was swelled with bruises and small cuts. But that hair…. that bright, beautiful blond air. Only one person he knew had that.

“Arthur?” Merlin half sobbed, half whispered. He almost dropped to the floor in relief. The healer shifted him to a nearby chair by bed. Tears streamed down his face as he noticed the steady rise and fall of his king’s chest. He was alive.

“He is Arthur?” Gaius asked, just to be sure.

“Yes. Biggest prat and noblest man I’ve ever known.” Merlin replied, before grabbing the hand laying still.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, but suddenly, he felt the fingers held in his own twitch.

“Arthur? Arthur?! Open your eyes. Wake up. Just open them up please. I’ll do whatever you want. Clean your socks, wash boots, whatever. Just wake up!” Merlin pleaded softly, watching the eyes move beneath the lids.

Finally, he saw bright blue slowly open to meet his own.

“Merl…?” Arthur slurred.

The smile on Merlin’s face put the sun to shame as he beamed at the king.

“Yeah, it’s me, you clotpole. Nice of you to join me.” Merlin laughed through the tears of joy. He never thought he’d see those eyes again. Everything would be ok.

They would be ok. Wherever they were, at least they were together. The two sides of a coin, never to be parted.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all,  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Just a note, I've had this idea stuck in my head for ages, and I feel like this could be a much bigger story. I myself don't have the attention span to continue it, so if anyone feels the urge to do so? Let me know and I would love to see your take on it!  
> Adios,  
> Soprano


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